Providing much convenience for travellers, flyers booking tickets on Air India to Europe can also travel on trains and buses to over 100 cities in the region with the same ticket. This arrangement would help travellers avoid the hassles of purchasing train tickets after arriving on flights in Europe.
The facility is being implemented based on an intermodal agreement signed by Air India with its International Air Transport Association travel partner AccesRail. Under the deal, Air India passengers can visit several cities in various European countries with a single ticket.
Moreover, the baggage allowance for the flight journey would be applicable to the train as well as bus trips.
“Air passengers arriving in Air India’s European gateways such as Amsterdam, Birmingham, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Milan and Vienna can travel seamlessly to destinations such as Austria, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom,” said an Air India official.
The intermodal facility will cover rail and bus services such as Avanti West Coast (UK), National Express (UK), Trenitalia (Italy), OBB Austrian Railway (Austria), SNCB Belgian Railway and Thalys (The Netherlands / Belgium).
Tickets for intermodal travel would be available only from international travel agents initially. “However, Air India has plans to provide the booking facility in its own sales channels soon,” said the official.
Incidentally, Vistara Airlines, a joint enterprise of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, had implemented the booking facility for train tickets along with flight tickets early this year. Vistara had entered into an agreement with Europe’s biggest railway operator Deutsche Bahn and World Ticket to enable its passengers to travel on trains to major cities in Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.
